If Looks Could Kill
by Gala000085
Summary: Deaths are part of the everyday life of Sam and Dean Winchester. A new hunt, however, have both boys jumping out of their skins, when they find that looks, quite literally, kill. Post AHBL Part 2. Please read and review! [COMPLETE]
1. The Hunt

**I first wrote this as a script and now I've given it a go as prose. Post AHBL Part 2**

**Happy reading!**

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Just as the door closed behind the young pair, the sign on the door was flipped around reading 'CLOSED' in big black letters. The pair walked away from the bar slowly while talking and laughing to each other in loud voices. They walked past the small paddocks where three horses were calmly grazing in the moonlight. 

"So, are you coming back with me?" The young man asked the girl beside him. He had to hold her arm to keep her on her feet. Behind them a curtain was moved aside and a face peered out through the window of the bar.

"I told you, Danny. Dad will be expecting me." She answered him with a slight giggle. She dangled slightly into him as she spoke.

"Screw him. What are you? Sixteen?" The man said with irritation in his voice.

"No; but you know what he is like. He does not even want me to be out. I know it's ridiculous but…" She stopped in her tracks. She looked at the man who now lay on the ground beside her. His body was twitching violently, his eyes were rolling and his face was turning a pale blue. "Danny?" She threw herself down on the ground next to him and felt his face.

He was ice cold and lay completely still. She could feel no heart beat. She heard running footsteps behind her and a girl who worked in the bar came running out. She shouted back to the wooden building to call an ambulance. The girl from the bar stopped and looked towards the woodland close to where the body lay. She could see the great spire from the church towering up over the tree tops; looking down upon the victim.

* * *

Dean turned down the radio slightly as a knock was heard on the door. Sam let him know that it was him and Dean opened the door. 

"Have we got any graveyards to visit tonight?" Dean said casually as he sat back down on the chair, turning off the radio.

"No; there is nothing at the moment." Sam answered, lowering his eyebrows slightly, but refrained from commenting when Dean put his feet onto the table beside him.

"Really? No mutilated bodies? No blood drained people? No unexplainable deaths? No dead people at all?" Dean said, not sure whether to be relieved or start to get bored.

"I admire how much you care for the dead." Sam said sarcastically. "Take a look yourself."

Sam threw the newspaper at Dean's feet, making Dean move them hastily. He looked at Sam with a sour expression on his face as he picked up the newspaper. He opened it and started to flick through. So many articles, but nothing useful; typical. Dean glanced at Sam and noticed that his brother had taken to look around their shabby motel room. Dean turned back to the newspaper and turned a page. Still nothing. This looked like it was going to be a long boring week.

"You are right." Dean said as he turned another page. "There's nothing."

"Hand me that will you?" Sam said as he stretched a hand towards the newspaper.

Dean shrugged and gave the newspaper back to Sam, who immediately turned to the front page.

"What?" He asked as Sam remained quiet, his eyes fixed on the newspaper.

"I think I missed something." Sam said, keeping his eyes on the paper.

"Really? Are you actually admitting to this, or…I'll be quiet." Dean added quietly, his smile of amusement fading from the glare Sam sent him over the top of the newspaper.

"Man dies outside bar." Sam had looked back to the newspaper and had started reading out snippets from the article. "Cause of death is currently unknown; suspected heart attack; investigation is ongoing."

"Heart attack, Sammy; that does not have to mean anything." Dean pointed out to his brother.

Sam did not look at his brother, but instead read on stubbornly from the article, "The man was in his early twenties and had never shown any signs of health issues."

"Okay, dude, you made your point." Dean said holding up his hands in defence. "Tell me this though…do you honestly think we have to do this?"

Thirty minutes later they were driving along a main road: Dean tapping his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, keeping in tow with the music; Sam doing research. _Geek Boy_, Dean thought happily as he stole a glance at his brother.

"Does it say anything about any…you know…ghostly, monster-like creatures?" Dean asked his brother hopefully.

"No." Sam said keeping his eyes on his laptop.

"No?" Dean repeated quietly to himself. "Does it say anything at all?"

"The name of the bar." Sam answered. "And that the girlfriend was there too."

"What's the name of the bar?" Dean asked absentmindedly. It came out wrong and he knew it. Sam would think that he only had one thought in mind, but that was not it; not it at all. He was simply trying to take an interest in the case to loosen Sam up a bit. His brother had been so tense the last couple of days. He didn't really know what had started it, but was beginning to worry that it was his fault…again.

"Spire's Ranch." Sam answered simply. Dean was quite taken aback but hid his surprise.

"Sounds a little bit…" He started.

"Strange?" Sam said, finishing Dean's sentence.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a while. Sam had abandoned his research for a while and was staring out of the windows at the trees and fields that were now passing them by. Dean was willing Sam to speak, but nothing came. He just sat there staring out of the window.

"Sammy, are you alright?" Dean asked the question that had been on his lips for the last couple of days.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam said casually as he continued to stare out of the window.

"Have I done something I have forgotten about?" Dean asked, trying to make it sound like a joke, but knew that there had been no humour in his voice.

"No, I'm just…I don't know…Forget about it." Sam finished as he stumbled over his words.

"No." Dean said defiantly. No way was his brother getting out of this one. He was very good at just wavering away the problems, burying deep inside himself.

"What?" Sam said, looking confused as he finally looked across at Dean.

"If there's something bothering you, I want to know." Dean pressed on. He could see it in Sam's eyes even before he answered, that he was not getting anywhere.

"I told you…forget about it." Sam said as he returned to stare out of the window.

He really was a hard nut to crack him Sam Winchester. Dean knew that he had always been stubborn and now was no different. He was not going to get anywhere with him by arguing. Reluctantly Dean turned his eyes to the road and let Sam be. Hopefully he would talk to him at some point. Dean did not want to make anything worse between them.

Instead of worrying about his brother, Dean tried to concentrate on the case. The first thought that had jumped into his mind was a reaper and he still had not dismissed that thought. He had decided long ago that his job had to be the freakiest job in the world.

The sky outside had grown dark and when Dean looked across at Sam he was sound asleep. He turned down the music slightly, thinking his brother probably needed his sleep, when he stirred. He looked confused for a moment before blinking a few times and rubbing his eyes. He sat up in his seat clearly trying to wake up.

"Where are we?" Sam asked, his voice showing that he was still not fully awake.

"Not quite sure." Dean admitted, but seeing the look on Sam's face he added quickly. "But I'm pretty sure we're going the right way."

"Comforting." Sam joked as he shifted his weight slightly in his seat. "How long have I been out for?"

"Dunno, a couple of hours, maybe." Dean said as he pushed his hands against the steering wheel to stretch his arms.

"Do you want me to drive for a while?" Sam suggested, noting the tired look in Dean's eyes.

"Nah…I've got it." Dean said as he settled himself in a more comfortable position.

"You thought more about the case?" Sam asked.

"Nothing else." Dean admitted as he had been plagued by what they were driving towards.

"You got a hunch on what it is?" Sam said. The sleep had done him some good; he was more like his old self, even though Dean could still here the tint of that unrecognisable tone that Sam used nowadays.

"Not really. I thought a reaper at first, but you would think there would have been more deaths than just this one."

"To be honest, I think there have been loads." Sam said suddenly. "I mean, when I looked deeper into this earlier, I found out that actually there have been loads of deaths, a bit like this one, over the years."

"What, heart attacks?" Dean asked, unsure of what Sam meant.

"Not necessarily. Some of them have just been closed off as being a freak accident." Sam said looking across at Dean.

"Dude, are you sure that there is actually something…supernatural here?" Dean asked uncertainly.

"Seems weird enough. Want to here why?" Sam teased.

"Go on then." Dean said expectantly.

"All of these deaths have been to people who are connected to the part of the town that is only in a couple of miles radius from the church." Sam said proudly.

"Yikes." Dean said.

"I know." Sam answered.

"Since we now have a vague idea that this is a job for us, who shall we pay a visit to first?" Dean asked, his eyes flicking from the road to Sam and back to the road.

"I would say, probably the girlfriend. I mean if she was there, then maybe she can tell us some more than just what's written in the newspapers." Sam suggested.

"Girlfriend it is then." Dean agreed as he pressed down a little harder on the accelerator and the car happily obliged.

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**First chapter out the way then.**

**That review button always has a very tempting look to it...(hint, hint)**

**_Disclaimer_: I don't own Supernatural or its characters.**


	2. The Witness

The sun was streaming in through the windows of the Impala as it parked in front a rather shabby-looking apartment building. The brothers stepped out of the car simultaneously, both wearing black suits. They walked up to the nearest apartment door, rang the bell and listened to the muffled footsteps approaching the door. The door opened a crack to reveal a stubby man with little hair on his head, wearing baggy trousers and a dirty t-shirt.

"Yeah, what do you want?" He growled at them as he took in their appearance.

"FBI. We are looking for Sophie Oakman." Sam said as he and Dean held up their fake badges.

"She lives with her father in number six." The man said as he stepped aside, allowing them to enter a hallway with a worn carpet. The paint was pealing off the walls, giving the place an eerie look. The man disappeared behind a door with a large sign reading PRIVATE painted on it. Sam and Dean proceeded down the hallway, halting in front of a door with a painted number six on the door. Sam knocked on the door and it was opened not long after by a man in his late fifties.

"Who are you?" He asked as he too took in the appearance of the brothers.

"Mr Oakman?" Sam asked, receiving a small nod from the man as an answer. "FBI; we are looking for your daughter, Sophie Oakman."

"Let me see some identification." Mr Oakman ordered and Sam and Dean pulled out their badges for a second time. The man almost looked disappointed when he gave a small nod and showed them into the apartment. "Sophie is my daughter; she's had a rough couple of days. Go easy on her."

He was clearly worried about his daughter; Sam recognised it immediately. He gave the man a reassuring smile and said, "Of course, Mr Oakman."

He showed them into a coop of a living, before shovelling out again telling them that his daughter would be there in a minute. Dean let out a sigh of relief.

"Dude, I have never been quiet for so long in my entire life. I mean when the occasion required…" His voice tailed off as he looked at Sam.

"Do you want me to applaud?" Sam requested. Dean rolled his eyes; he knew that it was no good arguing with Sam when he was in this mood.

"Sorry if I've kept you waiting." A soft female voice from the doorway distracted them. The girl, or rather, young woman looking at them was in her early twenties, with short dark blonde hair. She walked into the living room and sat down on a chair opposite the couch which she gestured to Sam and Dean. "Have a seat."

They sat, Sam on the edge of his seat, Dean leaning as far back as the couch would let him. Sam didn't even spare him a glance when he put on his sympathetic FBI face. Dean had seen him use it many times before; it was a mask, and a damn good one at that.

"Miss Oakman –" Sam began.

"Please, call me Sophie; Miss Oakman makes me feel kind of awkward." Sophie interrupted him.

"Sophie, what happened the night Daniel died?" Sam asked in that false sympathetic tone.

"Well we had gone to the Spire's Ranch, the bar, for a few drinks and laughs. We had plenty of those, and when we finally left it was pretty late. We started walking away from the bar, still chatting, until he suddenly just…fell. That was it; he was gone." Sophie finished wiping away a tear.

"Had he said anything beforehand? Was he feeling unwell?" Sam pressed on, but keeping his sympathetic tone intact.

"No; he was fine. I don't know why it happened to him." Sophie's last comment seemed to be more to herself than to the two men in front of her.

"So you didn't notice anything strange before?" Sam asked. Dean could see his determination, knowing him so well, but he was really good at this; making everyone feel comfortable even at this topic.

"No, there was…" Sophie's voice tailed off as she suddenly looked up at them, her eyes filled with horror. "There was…one thing."

"Yes?" Dean said, leaning forward on the couch.

"You're going to think I'm crazy; the police did."

"Believe us, we see and hear a lot of strange things in our line of work." Dean reassured her. Dean noticed a muscle tense in Sam's neck, but he didn't say anything.

"A couple of days before he died, I saw a…erm….I don't really know what you would call it, but the closest thing I can get to is a horse-like creature. Dad said I was dreaming or had just had too much to drink, but I swear to you, that what I saw was real. I don't know what it was, but it was definitely there in my garden, staring at me." Sophie took a deep stuttering breath, and shook slightly with the memory. She did not look like someone who was lying, far from it.

"We'll look into it, I promise." Sam said as he got up from the couch. Sophie looked at him with gratitude in her eyes. She seemed to have a lot of questions, but kept quiet, only wishing them good luck as they walked out of her apartment.

Once back out on the street, Dean glanced back at the building he had just left. They settled themselves in the Impala and Dean turned on the engine.

"Dude, that was weird; even for us." He said as they drove away from the buildings.

"Yeah, I know." Sam said, looking as though he was lost in thought.

"Have you got a hunch on what is going on?" Dean asked his brother, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him.

"Not really." Sam admitted. "Once we've found a motel, I'll call Bobby and hear what he thinks of this."

"Good idea." Dean said, hoping that the experienced hunter would have a clue, because he was a little bit unsure himself; just a little bit; maybe quite a lot. "I'll look through Dad's journal; see if he has ever come across anything like this."

"Anything like what, Dean?" Sam suddenly asked. "I mean, we haven't really got a clue what is going on around here."

"We'll figure it out, Sammy." Dean said reassuringly.

"It's Sam." His brother snapped at him. His face suddenly fell slightly, and then he looked at Dean with a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Jerk."

"Bitch."

* * *

"Did she really say she saw a horse?" Sam asked for about the tenth time.

They had found a (shabby) motel, and Sam was taking out his phone as Dean settled himself in a chair with his father's journal in his hands.

"Yep." Dean had retorted to this remark every time Sam asked this question, as it was getting on his nerves the way his brother kept repeating himself.

"Bobby will think we've gone mad." Sam mumbled as he dialled Bobby's number.

"You calling Bobby?" Dean said as he flicked casually through the journal.

"Yeah." Sam answered as he listened to the _beeps_. "Bobby; it's Sam…No, everything's fine; it's just this case we're working. We wanted to ask if you had any ideas…no, no nothing like that; just an odd death once in a while. But Bobby, have you…er…ever heard of a horse-ghost, or anything like that? You have?" Sam sounded thoroughly surprised. "Is that with one 'L'? Yeah, I've got it…thanks Bobby…I will…You too."

Sam looked puzzled as he put down the phone. Dean snapped shut his dad's journal and looked at Sam, waiting for him to speak. His brother, however, took out his laptop, and started typing.

"Well, what did he say?" Dean said urgently.

"He'd never hunted anything like it, but he had heard of something. Something like a Scandinavian myth. He said that…erm…they buried horses alive in front of a new built church to bring it luck." Sam looked mildly disgusted by the thought.

"Yikes." This was all Dean could think to say. He, like Sam, thought it mildly sickening.

"Apparently, the first encounter or recording of this thing was in 1673." Sam informed his brother, looking intently at the laptop.

"Does this pony have a name?" Dean said trying to sound casual. He had to admit that he thought that this sounded kind of weird.

"Helhest. Bobby said it means something like Hell's Horse, but he was not quite sure." Sam said, remembering what Bobby had told him.

"Sounds comforting." Dean said, again in that would-be casual tone. "Did Bobby say anything else?"

"No, I said he would try and dig into it a bit. He had quite a lot of old notes and stuff stacked away, so he said that he would look through them and see if anything about the Helhest came up."

They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their individual thoughts. Dean's mind suddenly did a double take, remembering what Sam had said earlier.

"Hey, dude, what was the name of that bar again?"

"Spire's Ranch." Sam answered dutifully, as though he had not quite heard what Dean said. He suddenly froze, however, and looked at Dean. "Do you think that means that the church is close by?"

"Could do." Dean said, finally feeling they were getting somewhere. "Sounds like we need to go and grab ourselves a couple of beers."

"Dean, do you think a horse was buried there." Sam asked his brother, looking away from him. "Do you actually believe this?"

Dean was not quite sure whether he had heard him correctly. After all the things they had seen, and now he was questioning this?

"You can have ghost people and ghost dogs; why not ghost horses?" Dean said, surprised to find his voice rather defensive.

"And I suppose there are aliens too?" Sam snapped back at him. He had clearly picked up Dean's defensive tone.

"Ever been to Roswell?" Dean said, determined not to let Sam win this argument.

"Dean…why are we even talking about aliens?" Sam said, coming to his senses.

"You started it." Dean said the remark that would usually have been said be six year old.

Sam gritted his teeth and looked at his brother again.

"So, are we going to this bar or not?"

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**Please review! **

**_Disclaimer_: still don't own the show or the characters**


	3. Bricks Falling Into Place

**Third chappie then...**

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They stared at the building in front of them. It looked like something there would have been more at home in a western film. It was made of wood, and the ground around it was gravel, not tarmac or concrete. There was a field on their right where a couple of horses were grazing peacefully. They could see the spire of the church tower above the trees in the woodland some hundred meters or so away from the bar.

"Well this is…nice." Dean said unsure on what word to use to describe the place. He pointed at the horses. "Look, they've got horses and everything."

"Maybe they killed the guy." Sam said sarcastically, though there were no hints of a smile on his face.

"You know what?" Dean said, finally having had enough of Sam's temper. "I think I will just stop talking to you for a while."

"Fine." Sam said. Dean could see him trying to keep his tone casual, though there was a little heat in his voice.

"Fine." Dean answered back heatedly.

They walked purposefully towards the door to the bar, consciously not looking at each other. Dean was finally annoyed with his brother's attitude. He had often been told that he was hard to be around sometimes, but Sammy? He was almost unbearable. Opening the door they were met by quiet country music. The interior was much like the exterior: wood; everything was made of wood. Even though Dean again was reminded of some old western movie, he had to admit that the place had talents to be almost cosy. A girl, roughly around the age of sixteen with dark blonde hair tied tightly into a knot on the back of her head, came walking towards them.

"Can I help you?" She asked. Dean cast another glance around the bar. They were the only ones there.

"Yeah, I would like a beer." Dean said with a smile.

"Just water, thanks." Sam said as he settled himself in one of the chairs at the bar. Dean sat down next to Sam, taking care not to look at him at all. The girl got them their drinks and not started cleaning some glasses.

"Very quiet around here." Dean said truthfully.

"Yeah, we're not exactly top of the list of tourist attractions at the moment." The girl said with a quick smile.

"I'm Dean; this is my brother Sam." Dean said, feeling that he needed to break down some ice, before talking some more with the girl.

"Anna." She said, looking up briefly from the glass she was cleaning.

Dean looked around the bar for a while. He wanted to ask her about what had happened when that guy died, but stopped himself, thinking that maybe he should just wait a bit.

"So, are there usually a lot of people around here then?" Sam asked, looking up at Anna.

"Well, we used to do alright for ourselves. I guess everybody got quite a scare when Danny passed away." Anna said, rubbing continuously on the same spot on the same glass.

"Were you there?" Dean asked, masking a look of concern.

"Yeah. He had spent most of the night here with his girlfriend. They left when I told them that we were closing up; they came thirty meters down the road and then BAM," she clicked her fingers as she said the word, averting their eyes, "he dropped dead. I saw it all out of the window and I hurried out, but when I reached them he was already dead."

"Did you know?" Sam asked her, again in that false sympathetic voice.

"He was a regular here, so I saw him quite often, talked to him quite a lot. He was a nice guy; didn't deserve to go like that." Anna said, finally putting down the glass, only to pick up another.

"I'm sorry." Sam said, real sympathy finally leaping out into his voice.

"I'm alright." Anna said, and she looked it. She looked to be a tough girl, one that was sure to get through this okay. "It was strange though. At his funeral they buried a jar."

She had blurted the words out fast, as though they had been boiling up inside of her for a long time, waiting to break free.

"Come again?" Dean said before he could stop himself.

"He was…you know…cremated, so they buried a jar." Anna repeated looking Dean in the eye. She didn't really look uncomfortable, merely pondering on his interest. "So, how long are you staying in the area?"

"We are not quite sure yet." Sam said. Dean knew what he meant. Considering how little they knew, it was hard to tell how long they were staying.

Anna started telling them of some of the things they could do around the area. It almost seemed as if it was a speech she had learnt of by heart to any tourists who were interested. Dean was only half listening to her. He tried to think more about their job. It sure as hell was a complicated one.

Dean leant against the front of the Impala some ten minutes later, staring at the horses grazing calmly in their paddock. He felt like they had just wasted time sitting in that bar. Sure she was a sweet girl, but it hadn't really helped them much.

"Well that was helpful." Dean said sarcastically as Sam joined him at the Impala.

"What do you suppose we do now?" Sam asked him; clearly he too found that they were getting nowhere.

"You sure Bobby didn't say anything else?" Dean questioned, watching Sam closely.

"Yep. Come on, we better start heading back to the motel, it's getting dark." Sam said as he opened the passenger door to the car and climbed in. Dean walked around to the driver's side, opened the door, but just before he too went into the car he turned his eyes towards the spire that towered so threateningly over the trees. This place was seriously creepy.

Darkness was starting to close in around them as they drove down a darkened street with houses on both sides. Dean noticed a car parked on one side of the road, where a man was getting out, a small suitcase in his hand.

"Holy shit!" Dean yelled as he yanked at the steering wheel of the Impala while slamming on the brakes. The car swerved round in a half-circle and came to a stop. Dean panted slightly. He had panicked when he had seen the small boy that had run across the road, to get to the man on the other side.

Sam too seemed to be quite shocked, but they both climbed out of the car and walked towards the other car.

"Daddy, daddy!" The boy screamed as he ran towards his shocked father.

"Haven't I told you never to do that?" The father yelled at his boy.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked as they neared the car. Dean was still shocked into silence. The image of what could have happened, had he not slammed on the brakes kept flashing before his eyes.

"I'm so sorry!" The father exclaimed as he turned to Sam and Dean. "He tried doing it once before, but I assure you that it won't happen again.

"But Daddy…" The boy began, tucking at his father's sleeve.

"Don't worry about it." Dean said as the father opened his mouth to give the boy another telling off. "It's just good to see he's okay."

The two brothers turned around and started walking back to the Impala, listening to the father and son arguing.

"Never, _never_ do that again! Do you hear me?" The father yelled.

"But Daddy!" The boy pressed on. "There was a horse in the garden and it was looking at me."

Sam and Dean stopped in the tracks and looked at each. They turned around simultaneously and walking slowly towards the father and son again.

"Did you say you saw a horse?" Sam asked the boy. The father looked up at Sam.

"Yes, it was in the garden." The boy said proudly, clearly content that someone was finally paying attention to him.

"Uhh good; we've…er…been looking for him." Sam said. Dean could hear his brother trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"_Him_?" The boy said quietly in disbelief.

"Do you think it would be possible, sir, if we took a look in your garden?" Sam asked, looking directly at the father.

"I'm sure he's probably making it up, but sure; if there really is a horse in the garden, then be my guest." The father said. He showed over the street and round the back of one of the houses to a small garden, surrounded by a hedge.

Sam and Dean were left to look around for a while as there had been no immediate sign of a horse.

"Dean, if it's a ghost horse we are dealing with, would we even find hoof prints?" Sam said almost mockingly as Dean crouched low on the ground.

"Maybe not hoof prints, but how about burns?" Dean said, ignoring his brother's tone. He felt Sam staring over his shoulder at the burn on the ground. As they watched, the burn seemed to slowly fade of the ground as though it had never been there, returning the grass to normal. "Shouldn't be so hard to catch the pony."

"You mean, we should try and follow the burns that disappear?" Sam said, the mocking tone still audible in his voice.

"Hey, it beats following the breadcrumbs that the birds eat." Dean said, unwilling to let Sam win another argument.

Dean found himself getting angry with his brother yet again. It seemed that it was hard for him to go much more than half an hour, before getting irritated. They walked back towards the Impala in silence, but as Dean made to get into the car Sam grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Wait, I just need to call Bobby before we go." He said as he let go of Dean and instead took out his phone.

"Can't you just call him when you are in the car?" Dean asked, longing to grab something to eat and return to the motel.

"Dean, just wait a minute, okay?" Sam said as he held the phone to his ear. "Hi, Bobby, it's Sam again…you were? So, you've found out some more?" Sam eyes widened slightly as Bobby spoke. "Thanks Bobby."

"Sam put the phone away and looked back at the house.

"What?" Dean said, sensing the anxiety in his brother.

"Bobby had found out a bit more. Apparently Helhesten is an omen of death. He said that if you saw this thing you would be sure that a friend, a family member or you would die not long after."

"Dude, that…" Dean said, realising why Sam was looking back at the house. "That Sophie girl, she said that she saw a horse."

"And not long after her boyfriend died." Sam said, finishing what Dean never said.

"And that little boy…" Dean said quietly, the bricks starting fit.

"He said he saw a horse." Sam said, looking back at his brother. "Dean, I don't think this thing is just a warning, I think it causes the deaths."

"Can't blame it though." Dean blurted out the thought that had been in his mind since the first time Sam had told him about Helhesten.

"What?" Sam said, looking like he was not believing what he was hearing.

"Well, all I know is that if I had been buried alive, I would have been pretty pissed off too." Dean said quickly, trying to make up for his comment.

"Dean, you do realise that boy in there could die, don't you?" Sam said pointing back towards the house.

"We should wait here; see if anything turns up later." Dean said defiantly, all thoughts of hunger and sleep forgotten. "But Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"If it really is the cause of the deaths, then how come no one sees it when someone actually dies?" Dean asked, looking up at his brother.

"I don't know." Sam admitted, visibly calming down slightly. "You're right; we should stay here tonight, and see if anything happens."

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**Please drop in a review to tell me how this is going so far!**

**_Disclaimer_: Still don't own the show _or _characters!**


	4. Growing Fears

**Thank you so much for the reviews!**

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Dean glanced at the sleeping form of his brother. He didn't blame him for being tired; hell, he was about to doze off himself, but had told himself that now was not the time. He had been sitting in the Impala for three hours now, staring at the house; waiting to hear the sound of anything that might happen. He would not admit it to Sam, but he was confused. This hunt was so different from what they were used to. At least he could usually look at the thing they were hunting. Over the last hours he had been thinking; thinking hard about the last couple of days. The more he thought, the more the hunt puzzled him. His father had never mentioned anything like this, which brought a tiny spark of fear into him; another thing he would never admit to.

He almost banged his head on the low ceiling of the car when he heard a door close, followed by loud voices. Dean reached across to his brother and shook him awake, keeping an eye on the three people hurrying into a car. Sam looked from Dean to the car, his eyes widening slightly.

"You go after them, I'll check around here." He called to Dean as he hurried out of the car.

Dean didn't need telling twice. The engine roared to life and he quickly turned the car around and followed the other car. There seemed to be only one thought going through his mind: please let us not be too late. They drove for ten minutes, and to Dean's fears pulled in at the hospital.

* * *

Sam had been waiting for his brother at the motel for a couple of hours now. He had spent some time looking around for the ghost, but had found no traces of it. He was puzzled. Usually when they were dealing with spirits or ghosts they had a 'normal' job – for hunting anyway. They were usually the ones where they knew exactly what to do and when to do it. With this hint, however, they found themselves a couple of steps behind the ghost, rather than in front of them.

Sam looked out of the window at the first rays of sun and sighed. He had tried to call Dean, but he hadn't answered. To try and subtle his worry he had spent some time researching. He found that it usually helped him because it took his mind off the worry. He took out his phone in the hope that there was some response from Dean; there was none. He was just about to call him again when the door to the motel flew open and Dean entered, slamming the door shut.

"What happened? I've been trying to call." Sam said, watching his brother as he paced the motel room, clearly in a rage.

"The mother had a miscarriage." Dean said quietly as he stopped pacing. Sam didn't know what to say; he just stared at Dean in shock. Dean suddenly jumped towards Sam and yelled, "Dammit, Sammy! How the hell does it do it?"

"I…I…" Sam stuttered, shocked by Dean's outburst. "I don't know, Dean. Maybe it is just and omen of death, and not the cause."

"This thing," Dean said clearly trying to hold back his anger, "it's the cause. I'm telling you, it's not just an omen. Sophie Oakman's boyfriend died of a heart attack. You said it yourself, Sam, the dude was too young to have a heart attack. This…this miscarriage was no different. There had been nothing wrong with that baby. The mother had had everything checked the day before and nothing was wrong. Did you see any signs of it?"

"No, nothing." Sam said assuming that Dean meant about Helhesten and not the miscarriage. "And there was nothing at the hospital?"

"Nothing." Dean said as he slumped down in a chair next to Sam. "Sam, how do we kill this thing if we can't look at it?"

Sam had been dreading that question. It had been circling his own mind for hours, but he had found no real answer for it.

"Bobby didn't know anything about it, but Dean; what would we have done if this was just a normal pissed off spirit?"

"Salted and burned the bones?" Dean suggested. His eyes suddenly widened in realisation. "Sam, where do you reckon this son of a bitch is buried?"

"Well, the myth says that the horses were buried near the church. There is the church close to the Spire's Ranch. I reckon we could take a look around." Sam said, relieved that there was something they could do.

"Yeah, we could do that. How long do you reckon this beast has been around?"

"Hard to say really, isn't it?" Sam said as he started to pack up the computer. "I mean, no really lingered on these deaths as they were…well…natural."

"You don't think someone's summoned this thing, do you?" Dean asked. Sam could see his brother's desperation for taking action, for doing something.

"To be honest, no I don't. It doesn't really seem so pleased to serve people." Sam said, trying to smile, but he was pretty sure it came out more as a strange grimace.

"Well you can force ghosts…" Dean said quietly, his voice trailing off.

"No; I think it's been around since the church was built; or rather, since the horse was buried." Sam said looking at his brother who had taken to stare out of the window.

"When was that?" Dean asked carelessly. It was as though he had almost given up. Sam couldn't understand it. This was not like Dean at all. He tried to ignore it and answered his brother's question.

"Some time in the seventeen hundreds." He said, remembering from the research he had done earlier.

They were quiet for a while; simply sitting there. Dean was still staring out of the window, his face expressionless. Sam knew that his brother took all the blame for the miscarriage. He would never admit it, no doubt, but he was afraid. He had only seen it a few times with his brother, but now he could see it in his eyes every time he spoke. Sam didn't blame him; he as scared too.

"Dude?" Dean suddenly said, turning his head to look at Sam.

"Yeah?"

"You said this was a Scandinavian myth?"

"Yeah?" Sam repeated, unsure exactly where Dean was going with this.

"What the hell is a Scandinavian myth doing in the US?"

Sam understood Dean's question, but he had no idea. As Dean said it, he too felt that something was simply not right.

"I don't know." Sam thought that he said this more and more, the deeper they dwelled into this case. Dean only nodded. Sam had thought that he would come with some snide remark, but none came.

"Do you think you could dig out some history of the church?" Dean asked, looking at Sam laptop.

* * *

He was angry. No not just angry; he was enraged. This feeling of rage did not mix well with the other emotion that was washing over him: fear. His father had tried to drill it out of him, and it had worked to some extent, but he was beginning to find it hard to hide the growing fear that was dwelling inside of him. Hearing the doctor's words at the hospital had been the last straw. This thing was not any ordinary ghost or spirit.

He was not comforted when he had seen that Sam too was beginning to look slightly fearful. Fear, fear, fear; it was all around him. Wherever he went he saw fear; maybe not always in his brother or in himself, but in other people too. That seemed to be the only thing that linked this hunt to the previous ones they had carried out. He wanted to do something, instead of just sitting around feeling useless. Sam was good with the research and sitting down, trying to calm. Dean would rather just go somewhere, and do something.

"Dean?" Sam voice cut through Dean's thoughts. He shook his head lightly and looked at his brother who was sitting behind his laptop, his eyes darting from side to side. "You are not going to believe this?"

Dean was not quite sure what to make of that comment. He found it hard to believe this hunt at all

"What?" He said when he could find nothing better to say.

"There are no records of who built this church. Anywhere." Sam added as he looked up at Dean.

"There's nothing?" Dean asked, feeling that this hunt was getting worse and worse at every minute.

"Only one thing…" Sam said looking back at the laptop.

"And what's that?" Dean asked when Sam did not continue.

"There is a stone that is said to have been there as long as the church has. Guess where it is." Sam said, once again looking up from the laptop. When Dean did not say anything Sam continued. "Just outside the church."

They were out in the car before five minutes had passed. Sam had asked if Dean's was sure that he did not want to rest a bit first. Dean glare had been enough for Sam to gather his things and hurry after Dean outside to the Impala. They drove along the roads both lost in thought. Sam started talking after a while, but Dean wasn't really paying attention. He was just concentrating on getting to this church as fast as possible.

They drove past Spire's Ranch, seeing the car park empty again. They drove around the woodland where dark trees where towering over the road, before they could drive up towards the church and park the car. They both hurried out of the car and started towards the church.

The church was relatively small. It was white with an iron railing around it. Two gates stood ajar giving axes to the white church doors. Both boys had thought that they might have to ask the location of the stone, the result being they were slightly taken aback when they saw a large round stone just inside the church. Even though it was outside it looked like it was cleaned on a regular basis as there was no plants had started to tangle itself around it. Then again, nothing was growing around the stone either.

"Been like that for a long time." The voice belonged to an old man who was proceeding down the stone steps away from the church. "For as long as I can remember."

It was clear that he was referring to the stone and the lack of growth. Dean saw Sam squared his shoulders and put on the smile. Dean recognised it as the smile he used whenever they were, well, anybody who were in a position to get some information. It was almost similar to the false sympathetic tone.

* * *

The drive back to the motel was a lot less tense than the drive to the church. The brother's had agreed that they would return that night and dig up the bones of the horse. They were both content that they finally felt they were getting somewhere.

"It's weird though…" Dean said slowly.

"What is?" Sam said, slightly fearful that Dean was going to say something that would ruin their plan.

"Why would you put a stone there?" Dean asked looking temporarily at his brother.

"You remember what the man said? That when he was young, everyone used to spit at the stone. No one really knew why; they had always just thought that was what to do. I guess it just wore off."

"So, we are sure that the horse is buried under that stone because, dude, I don't want to go round digging up the entire church yard." Dean said, with a hint of the good old Dean humour.

"I'm positive." Sam said.

They drove on in silence, both thinking about the digging there was to be done later.

* * *

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	5. Salting, Burning and a Death

**This is a short chapter, I know. **

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* * *

Dean felt a lot better after having slept through the afternoon. Sam had woken up before him and gone to get them something to eat before they headed out to the church. They still had a couple of hours to kill, as they would rather do the digging unwatched. Dean stared absentmindedly around the motel room, drumming his fingers lightly on the table. Sam cleared his throat but Dean ignored him, and continued his drumming.

When Sam did his little couch again, Dean looked round at him. He looked mildly irritable.

"Dude, do you want a glass of water?" Dean asked, knowing perfectly well what the little coughs meant.

"No; I'm fine." Sam answered and he disappeared behind a book.

Dean resumed his drumming. He was bored and he needed something to take his mind off the boredom. He cast a glance back at Sam, whose jaw was clenched tightly. Dean ignored his brother and stared around the room again, searching for something to do.

"Dean, could you possible not do that?" Sam asked, clearly trying to keep his voice calm.

"Do what?" Dean said innocently. At least now he had something to do: annoy Sam.

"That drumming." Sam explained slightly more desperate.

"What? Sure, sure." Dean smiled. Ace; Sam is annoyed.

Dean stared around the room again, humming. Sam slammed the book shot and put it down on the table.

"Dean?" He said his temper at peak.

"Yep?" Dean said, again in that innocent voice, as he looked round at Sam.

"Please, could you just be quiet." Sam said, his voice shaking slightly with anger.

_Oh dear_, Dean thought, _I think he is beyond annoyed now_.

"Of course." Dean responded, thinking that it would probably be the safest thing to do.

* * *

Two hours later they were driving along the dark streets towards the church. Sam had calmed down considerably when Dean had kept his promise to be quiet. He glanced away from the road for a minute and took a good look at Sam.

"What's wrong, Sammy?" He asked.

The question seemed to had taken Sam by surprise as he looked slightly startled for a second.

"Nothing." Sam said. Dean could easily hear the lie through the words and he wondered when he could press on the matter long enough for Sam to actually respond truthfully; maybe when they were digging up the horse's bones.

"So, any ideas what we will do if there aren't any bones under that stone?" Dean asked as they rounded the corner on the road at Spire's Ranch.

"Dean! Stop the car!" Sam shouted. Dean had barely pulled over before Sam had jumped out of the car and ran back towards the bar.

"Sam?" Dean yelled after him as he followed his brother at a run.

They ran as fast as their legs could carry them; Dean still unaware. When he caught up with Sam, his brother stood with a frantic Anna in his arms. Anna was screaming and crying, while pointing back towards the bar.

"Anna? Anna!" Sam called to her, trying to calm her down. "What happened?"

"There…there was a-a-a horse." Anna said, her voice shaking. "I was just about to draw the curtains shut, when there it was staring at me. I-I-I have never seen anything like it. I have never been so scared in my life."

Sam turned his head and looked around at Dean. They held eye contact for a while; thinking the same thing.

"Sam will stay here with you." Dean said shortly and he turned around and walked back towards the car.

"Dean!" Sam called after him. Dean turned around and looked at him. "Be careful."

Dean merely gave a nod in response and walked on.

The engine roared to life and the Impala soared on down the road. He drove around the dark forest and up towards the church. He parked the car some hundred meters from the church. He took out everything he would need and jogged as fast as he could with everything in his hands towards the church. In daylight it had looked pretty, but in the darkness it looked haunting.

The iron gates creaked open as Dean entered the church yard, and at once set to work at digging up the ground under the stone. Usually he hated doing it, and it was the same thing now, but he knew that this time there was no time to hang around. He dug faster than he had ever done, the hole becoming deeper and deeper.

He looked at his watch; he had been digging for forty minutes and still had not found anything. He sighed and continued his frantic digging. As he brought the shovel down again he heard a sound that was quite different from the sound of a shovel against soil. He knelt down and removed some of the dirt with his hands. He jumped back in shock, the hollow pit of the horse's skull appeared.

"Bingo." Dean whispered as he continued to dig, finally feeling that he could do something.

Dean leaned against the trunk of the Impala fifty minutes later, breathing heavily. This job was really one of the strangest he had ever done. He didn't now why but he had had a feeling of nausea when he had stared at the burning skeleton of the horse. His mind was taken off the phone when his phone. He took it out and was puzzled to see Sam's name across the phone.

"What's up?" Dean answered the phone.

"_Did you…did you find the bones?_" Sam distressed voice worried Dean.

"Yeah, yeah, it's done. What's wrong, Sammy?"

"_We were too late, Dean. Anna is dead_."

The line went dead. Dean dropped his phone, and instead turned his gaze to towards the church and the grave that he filled with earth when the bones had burnt. How? He shook his head to pull himself together. He hurried over to the driver's side of the Impala and drove faster than the devil towards the bar.

When he arrived he saw lights from police cars and ambulances flooding the scene. His hands shook when he saw a body bag being taken out of the building. He saw Sam standing away from the scene by the fence where the horses stood watching the scene with interest. Dean hurried towards his brother, but on arrival he saw the dazed look in his brother's eyes, he knew meant danger.

"You okay?" Dean whispered.

"She just slipped on the stairs; broke her neck." Sam said, keeping his eyes on the scene ahead of him.

"I salted and burned the damn bones, Sammy." Dean insisted. He wanted this to be over, but somehow he knew all along that maybe it had just not been enough. "When did she…?"

"Half an hour ago." Sam answered, still not looking at Dean.

"Son of a bitch." Dean cursed.

"We should have known that salting and burning would be too easy." Sam whispered.

"How, Sam?"

"This thing," Sam said, finally looking at Dean, "is powerful enough to cause death that seem normal; maybe just a freak accident. How could it be enough to simply salt and burn the bones?"

"Unless…" Dean said quietly, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Unless, what?" Sam asked, his voice suddenly more interested.

"Have this happened in other countries?" Dean asked

"Yeah, I checked and it was quite hard to track, but it seems that in some point in history, the odd 'normal' death has popped up here and there." Sam recited.

"What if it's the same ghost?" Dean asked, looking into his brother's eyes. "What if this thing is the spirit of all the horses in one ghost? What if it just haunts different places at different times in history?"

"And you call me the geek?" Sam joked, hint of a smile on his face. "Let's get back to the motel. I'll call Bobby and hear what he thinks of this."

Sam put down the phone and rubbed his eyes. Dean kept his eyes on him, waiting for him to speak.

"Bobby can't believe it's actually true." Sam said quietly. "He had no idea how to get rid of it. He suggested salting and burning, but that kind of didn't work. Well, so we think."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Maybe once you have looked at it the death happens, no matter if the beast is gone or not." Sam suggested.

Dean didn't answer, merely made a noise telling Sam that he had heard his idea. His brother was right; it could be gone. He found himself moving over to the bed, thinking that he would take a little trek the following night to see if this thing was really gone.

* * *

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	6. Helhesten

**Last chapter...**

* * *

Dean opened his eyes and glanced over at his brother's sleeping form. At least they had been able to get some sleep in the end. Dean felt as though there was a dark pit in his stomach there had been there ever since he had heard that Anna had died after he had salted and burned the bones. It was starting to make sense though. He sure as hell did not want that thing to still be out there, but his instincts kept telling him the job wasn't finished; and he knew they were right. He couldn't explain how he knew, but he thought that he would take a walk through the woodland later. He was positive that he would not find anything, but just in case.

He picked up his watch lying on the bedside table. Half past seven. They must have slept for quite some time. Sure they had slept for an hour or so, then had breakfast, done some research, had lunch and then had some more sleep. Dean decided that he better get a move on if he wanted to get to the Spire's Ranch by sundown. He got up as quietly as he could, dressed and slipped out of the room, leaving Sam a note saying he had gone out and not to worry.

It felt good to be back in the Impala, even though he spent so much time in it anyway. The car felt almost like home. He drove away from the motel and headed towards the bar, wanting to walk from the bar to the church through the woodland. He thought that it was something obsessive that drove him on, as he knew that what he was doing was probably the dumbest thing he could have done.

Dean parked the Impala a bit closer to the woodland than to the bar, got out and walked round to the trunk. He loaded his shotgun with rock salt, as well as putting some extra in his pockets; just in case. He walked towards the woodland, his feet feeling strangely heavy, but he ignored them and walked on. He almost jumped when his phone rang, then cursed under his breath for his anxiety and pulled the phone out.

"Hey Sam." Dean said as he walked into the woodland. It was strange; in here everything was a lot darker and quieter.

"_Where've you gone?_" Dean was surprised to hear that Sam's voice was concerned rather than irritant.

"Thought I would take a walk through the woodland and at least hope that the horse was gone for good." Dean said truthfully. He didn't want to lie to his brother when Sam had sounded like that. Dean feet thudded gently on the path which he followed among the dark trees, muffling all other potential sounds.

"_You should've woken me_." Sam said, again he didn't sound angry, only concerned. "_You know what happened to Anna wasn't your fault, right?_"

"I was going to say the same thing to you." Dean said surprised at Sam remark.

"_Dean, you know that you sometimes make things rather personal._" Sam said slowly as though afraid of how Dean would react to his words.

"Meaning?" Dean asked, stopping temporarily, wanting to be sure he caught every word his brother had to say.

"_Don't get bossy, alright? I just know that you don't appreciate who have suffered from Helhesten._" Sam was right. Dean was not at all pleased with how everything had turned out.

He walked on down the path. He saw a river running ahead of him with an old fashioned bridge across it. It was narrow, made of wood and stretched straight across the river. Nothing on it was made for looks, not even the triangular roof preventing rain from touching the wooden floorboards.

"I thought I was going to be the one having to comfort you." Dean said. He had not been looking forward to it, but he had thought that it had been necessary, which was why he was rather taken aback by Sam's remark. "You are the one that has been a bit beside yourself lately."

"_I'm sorry._" Sam said quietly. This was not what Dean had wanted. He cursed himself silently for possibly making Sam more upset.

"Dude, don't apologise; just promise me that you will tell me if something's bothering you." Dean thought that at least was reasonable.

"_You know I will._"

"You're a terrible liar, Sammy." Dean pointed out.

"_I suppose I am_." Sam chuckled.

Dean had reached the bridge and was just about to take a step onto it, when he thought he heard slow, uneven muffled footsteps behind him. He turned around only to stare at the empty path he had just walked upon.

"_Dean? Dean, are you okay?_"

Dean didn't answer, but turned around again. He took in a sharp intake of breath and was about to fall back, but regained his balance. He was looking into the dark pits in the horse skull in front of him. It was no more than forty centimetres and Dean could see every detail of its appearance. The head had lost most of its coat and skin, along with the eyes; the greyish-white colour of the skull clearly showing. Even without the eyes, there was no mistaking that the horse was looking directly at him, its head moving slowly from side to side. The body was not much better than its haunting face. The skin was drawn tightly around the horse's skeleton, except in the few places where the skin was hanging from its sides. The black coat was dull and in patches along the body and neck; the mane long, thin and tangled – lifeless. Dean's eyes was drawn for a second to the spot where there was supposed to have been a front leg; the horse only had three legs.

"_Dean! Dean!_" Sam voice cut through to Dean's mind as he stared into the dark pits in the skull. "_What is it?_"

"Helhesten." Dean said simply, his voice slightly hoarse.

"_What? Did you find a burning hoof print –?_" Sam began to ask hurriedly.

"I found it." Dean cut across him.

"_What? Are you sure?_"

"I'm staring straight into its ugly face, I'm really pretty sure." Dean hissed at him. When Sam remained quiet, Dean decided that he better try and distract Sam slightly from what was happening. "You sure Bobby didn't know of anything that would get rid of this thing?"

"_He…he didn't know anything, Dean._" Sam said slowly and quietly.

"Then I guess the pony will just have to show me…" Dean said more to himself than to Sam.

"_No, Dean, don't do anything stupid. Please, Dean!_" Sam distressed voice cut through the line.

"What the hell." Dean said.

He cut Sam off, put the phone in his pocket and made sure he had a firm grip on the shotgun. Helhesten eyed him, still with that head moving limply from side to side. In a matter of seconds Dean had flung himself onto the back of Helhesten's bony back. For a fraction of a second surprise took him that he could even touch it, but it was quickly forgotten. The skull moved around slowly and eyed him from his sitting position on its back. Dean yelled out in anger and kicked its sides hard. Helhesten opened its mouth wide in anger and with a shake of the head had turned sharply on its hind legs. It thundered over the bridge in an unimaginable speed. Dean clutched the patchy mane tightly as the horse moved effortlessly and silently over the ground.

Dean dared a glance to the side and found that everything around them was black. He shuddered and returned his gaze to the front. He hardly had time to think as they glided quickly over the ground, though he was rather surprised that it had not yet made an attempt to throw him.

"Why can't you just go back to hell?" Dean yelled at it as it started to slow down.

Dean looked up and noticed they had arrived at the church. Helhesten's hurried pace turned to a walk and it hobbled towards the open iron church gates. The church windows were completely black and the only light showing the way was the light of the young moon, which only made the beast look more haunting. Reaching the railing the horse screamed in fury and rose onto its hind legs, bringing the lonely front leg down hard on the ground. Dean felt himself being thrown off balance and when the horse made another attempt at jumping at the gates he was flung to the ground. He quickly got to his feet and watched as the horse hobbled from side to side in front of the church gates.

"You can't enter." Dean said with realisation, tightening his grip on the shotgun. "What would happen if you did?" Helhesten suddenly stopped and turned it dark pits round to rest on him. "Is that what to do? To force you across? To force you back to hell where you belong?"

Dean held absolutely still, watching the beast in front of him. Its head cocked suddenly sideways as though to observe him from a different angle. Helhesten suddenly let out a sound in between a snort and a scream and jumps at Dean. He felt its hard skull make contact with his before he had even had time to think about moving. He was sent flying to the ground. He took his hand up to feel the bloody gash above his eye before turning his head to look up at Helhesten. Its nose was mere centimetres from his face. Dean quickly grabbed his shotgun and sprang to his feet, positioning himself so that the horse was between him and the church gates.

The horse was standing still again except for its head that had resumed its movement from side to side as it eyed him. Dean slowly lifted up the shotgun and pulled the trigger. Helhesten screamed as the rock salt made contact to its skull, sending it scrambling backwards. Dean shot another load of rock salt at it, shaking slightly as he walked towards it. Helhesten stopped its backwards movement and stared at him again; the church gates between them.

"Straight into the lion's mouth." Dean whispered to it as its coat started falling off, turning to ash before touching the ground.

It tried to jump forward and in its desperation managed to free its skull from the church gates in an incredible speed. In mere seconds it had grasped hold of Dean's left arm with its teeth, while its bony hindquarters started turning to ash. Pain seared through Dean's body, but he managed to use his right arm to crash the handle of the shotgun into Helhesten's skull with all of his strength. Helhesten reluctantly released its grasp and fell back through the church gates. Dean stared as Helhesten turned to ash before his eyes with a last haunting scream.

Dean let his body drop head first to the ground. The pain in his arm was unbelievable and his head felt heavy. He tried to lift up his head when he heard running footsteps, but was unable and instead welcomed the darkness that had started to overwhelm him.

* * *

"Dean? Dean?" Sam cried out as he skidded onto the ground by the collapsed form of his brother.

He turned his brother around slowly and tried to withhold a gasp when he saw the state his brother was in. He was completely white except for the blood running down his face from a large gash above his eye. Sam's eyes were drawn to his brother's left arm where the jacket and shirt had been burned away, leaving his skin full of harsh black burns. Sam immediately checked for a pulse, fearing the worst and was relieved to find a slow, but steady thudding.

"Dean?" Sam tried again to get life in his unconscious brother. "Come on, Dean."

Sam unsuccessfully tried not to smile when Dean's eyes flickered slowly opened. They darted around in the darkness until they came to rest on Sam's face.

"Hey there, little brother." Dean's voice was quiet and hoarse and he had still not tried to move.

"Hey." Sam said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like some friggin' ghost just tried to bite my arm off." Dean said, clearly trying to sound humorous, but the attempt was unsuccessful considering the state of things.

"You think you can stand up?"

"Sure."

Sam supported Dean as he shakily got to his legs. Sam took off his jacket and wrapped it around Dean's shoulders which only made him more aware that Dean was definitely not okay as he did not even complain. His brother's head turned towards the church, his eyes locked on the church gates before he turned back to Sam. They made their way slowly back through the woodland, Dean having refused to Sam getting the car. To be honest Sam did not really feel like leaving his brother alone at the church; not again.

Reaching the Impala they settled themselves on the front just staring into the night for a few minutes, before having to make their way back to the motel.

"You think it's gone?" Sam asked, looking at his brother.

"Hope so." Dean responded, some of the colour had returned to his face and he looked slightly more alert. "'Cause I've ran out of ideas of how to get rid of it. You know, we should add this to the strangest-ever-hunt list."

"Yeah." Sam chuckled, they definitely should. "Look, Dean, I am really sorry for how I've been acting lately."

"Don't even go there, Sammy." Dean said looking back at Sam. "No chick-flick moments, remember? And besides, you wouldn't be my pain-in-the-ass little brotherif you weren't a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess not." Sam laughed.

* * *

Back at the motel, Dean was rather grateful to sit down in a chair for a while. They had cleaned the gash on his head up and were both relieved that it was not too bad. The pain in his arm had subsided a bit after the painkillers he had taken. Sam walked across the motel room and sat down in a chair opposite Dean.

"You think we should take a look at your arm?" He asked, looking at Dean's burned left arm.

Dean was about to answer when Sam's phone rang. Sam took it out and looked surprised for a moment before answering it.

"Bobby, hi…what?" Sam dropped the phone and looked horrorstruck.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Dean asked, immediately sensing his brother's distress.

"Ellen is dead."

* * *

**And yep, I'm going to be evil and just end the story there.**

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**_Disclaimer_: I don't own the show or the characters.**


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